Never Knowing When to Stop
by Mia-Zeklos
Summary: There are two members of Torchwood One and Three that should never, ever meet. Which, of course, only draws them to each other.


**Author's Notes: This is long(ish) and darker than the fics I wrote recently. If there are any typos, I promise to fix them later; I'm in a bit of a hurry now. I hope you enjoy it, though, so feel free to let me know what you think of it. **

_Just barely got out of school, came from the edge of town_

_Fought like a switchblade so no one could take him down_

_He married trouble and had a courtship with a gun_

_He walked the streets a soldier and he fought the world alone_

Jack was already irritated beyond belief when he stood in front of the door of Yvonne's personal assistant. He'd been looking for the guy all around the building, but he seemed to have at least ten different functions within the tower – Head of Archives, Communications Officer for UNIT and MI-5, part-time flied agent, did the occasional job for Management, training – physical and psychical – of new recruits, the Director's PA... Everyone seemed to know him and meaningful glances were exchanged whenever Jack mentioned the name, which didn't help in the least. He'd have thought that Ianto Jones was some sort of a hive mind if he didn't know One's attitude towards anything non-human.

He came in when there was no response and looked around. It was an office like any other, with a great view of the city through the window, and organised chaos reigned over the place. The desk was loaded with all kinds of alien trinket that looked like it had been modified or was currently being fiddled with in some way. Just as Jack got closer, curious, the door of the en-suite bathroom opened and a young man came out and the Captain was left staring at the most perfect face he had seen in quite some time.

His dark hair was perfectly styled and contrasted beautifully with his pale skin and he had the biggest eyes Jack had ever seen – bright blue and, right now, staring at him in surprise. He was dressed in a black suit that perfectly showed off his long, slim body, and a dark blue shirt.

"Can I help you?" Welsh, too. His voice was deep with a slightly amused edge to it, as if he knew what effect he was having on people and was relishing it.

"Yes," Jack said in the end, shaking himself out of his trance. "I'm looking for Ianto Jones."

A smile tugged at the corners of the guy's mouth and he sat down in the chair behind the desk. "Today's your lucky day, then."

"_You_ are Ianto Jones?" Jack asked, not bothering to hide his disbelief in the least. He'd expected an overachiever in his forties who was constantly stressed because of all the work he had to do, not some skinny kid that barely looked twenty.

"The one and only. And you would be?"

"Captain Jack Harkness. You've heard of me?" he asked when Jones raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. You've been in charge of Three for, what, three years now?"

"And how long have _you_ been here?" Jack challenged at the condescending note of Jones's voice.

"Almost half a year. What are you needing my humble assistance with, Sir?" His politely disinterested tone was belied by the curious twinkle in his eyes.

Jack sighed and sat down, leaning over the desk. "Yvonne must have at least one confidant here," he said quietly. "And I just bet it's you." Someone who did all these stuff and was so close to her had to be in charge of enough things to know what she was up to.

"It is," Jones admitted, throwing Jack off a bit. He'd expected some sort of protest, and the man just kept the small expectant smile, which was rather unnerving.

"Good," Jack said hesitantly. "Well, then, I need help. There's something fishy going on."

"You want a list of all the fishy goings-on here?" Jones gave a good-natured laugh. "How much time do you have?"

Jack ignored him. "Something _very_ fishy, then. I think she's doing experiments in the laboratory and that's never a good sign."

"And you thought that I'd be a good person to ask." The other man said sceptically.

"Yes, because you're her personal assistant and, as it seems, the one who knows everything about everyone," Jack defended himself.

"And how did you find me?"

"Oh, that part was easy," Jack shrugged. "You show up in the hallway on the Upper Management floor, say 'Ianto Jones' loud enough, and then follow the trail of blushing virgins."

The flashed him a mischievous smile and leant over his desk. "You know, if they're blushing, chances are they are not virgins."

Oh. So he was_ that_ sort of famous. Not really much of a surprise, given the way he looked. Jack licked his lips. "And you know that first hand, don't you?"

"Do you have any doubts," Jones started, his voice just on the edge between amusement and seduction, 'Sir?"

Jack drew a bit of a blank here and was saved by the door opening abruptly and a young woman coming in.

Jones's face changed all of a sudden; the smile was more sincere and less flirtatious. "Lisa!" When Jack eyed them curiously, he introduced them to each other. "Captain, this is Lisa Hallett, head of HR. Lisa, Captain Jack Harkness."

"Oh, God," she said, sounding genuinely distressed. "You two have met. The end is nigh." When Jones laughed heartily, she smiled and Jack thought that perhaps she couldn't help it – that laughter was infectious. "Seriously, do you have any idea of the lengths Miss Hartman had to go to to prevent this from happening? Here's your report, by the way. Your assignment is training the new recruits in real-life conditions next Wednesday."

Jones frowned. "I thought I did that anyway?"

"The fact that you're punished into it every week doesn't make it official. And, for the good of us all, don't try to make it fun or adventurous or in any way life-threatening, and don't take any pleasure in it. _Any_ pleasure. From anyone," she added firmly when he grinned and Jack briefly wondered what this kid could have done in the six months he'd been here.

"Why are they keeping you here if you cause so much trouble?" He asked once Jones's colleague was out of the door.

"I'm too useful," the other man replied without an ounce of modesty and Jack thought that they could really get along. "Speaking of which, if you want to know what Ivy is doing in her free time, give it up now. I'm here because I play my cards right and if there's one thing I know, it's that she likes Three where she has you – well out of her territory."

Jones's expression had changed once more and how was hard as rock. Jack gulped uneasily. "Ivy?" he managed at last. "You've made yourself cosy here, haven't you?"

Jones shrugged. "I told you. I know how to play my cards right?"

Well, maybe they wouldn't get along so well after all.

**o.O.o**

Ianto put down the pen with finality that he'd been longing for since the day had started. Getting all the threads he'd let loose to work was rather exhausting even with Yvonne's enhancements and Harkness's visit certainly hadn't helped his state of mind.

"Ianto?" He heard her before he saw her, but he'd been expecting her to show up, so it wasn't much of a surprise." Have you finished already?"

Standing in front of his window with the city lights behind her back, Yvonne looked like an angel and Ianto would have appreciated the sight if he didn't know her better than that and if he wasn't so damn tired. "Pretty much, yeah. What've you got in mind?"

She held up a small bottle full of sparkling blue liquid. "How would you feel about this?"

Ianto found it in himself to smile. "What does it do?"

"Improves your pain threshold, and the side effects," she went on, just like usual, before he could ask, "Are that your wounds might heal more slowly."

Ianto snatched the bottle from Yvonne's fingers and raised it, as if in greeting. "Everything for queen and country, huh?"

"Precisely," she nodded, clearly satisfied. "Bottoms up!" Ianto tried to bite back any comment about bending over desks to himself, but there wasn't any reason to, apparently, and he told himself as much when Yvonne stepped closer and almost absently undid the first button of his shirt as he drank her newest potion, a slightly predatory look in her eyes.

When he kissed her, Ianto had already long since forgotten anything about the experiments she was feeding him.

**o.O.o**

The next time Jack visited Torchwood One, he tried his luck with Ianto Jones once more. Or at least, tried to try his luck, then saw him and took pity of him.

He looked even thinner than before, there were shadows under his eyes and the way he spoke was slightly distracted as if he kept losing his train of thought. He handed Jack all the documents he asked for and looked ready to get it all out of the way as quickly as possible.

"Look, are you okay?" he asked in the end, unable to hold it back. "You look like you're gonna fall asleep on me. We could continue some other time."

"Some other time," Jones echoed softly. "Yes, that would be– yes." He looked dup. 'I'm sorry, I just– I'm not feeling very well."

"I can see that." Jack lingered in his place. "Can I help you somehow?"

Jones gave him a small smile, even though it was just a weak echo of the same one when he'd flashed it last time. "I can think of a few things."

Jack's throat was very dry all of a sudden. "Don't start something you won't finish," he said weakly and the young man's face suddenly got more lively.

"Who's saying I won't finish it?"

He still looked like he hadn't slept in about two years, but, well, whatever helped... Jack had got the impression that the kid had shagged his way through the building and didn't see why he shouldn't get a first hand taste at what everyone else had already had.

Jones didn't bother locking the office door before he reached for Jack, the smile more on the lecherous side than friendly now. Maybe he had a thing for the risk of someone walking in on them. Maybe he just didn't give a damn. Whatever the truth was, Jack didn't particularly care, especially when he was shoved up against the wall and then pulled him up just enough for him to wrap his legs around Jones's waist as the man started kissing and biting along the line of his neck.

"How did you – oh, yes! – how did you do that?" Jack gasped.

"If you're unfamiliar to the concept of kissing, Captain, we should probably stop now," he said, his voice a low purr against his throat.

"No, I meant," Jack pulled his head up by the hair. "How did you lift me up? You weigh at least twenty pounds less than I do."

Jones shrugged. "I work out."

"Yes, I can feel that," Jack said with a breathless laugh, nodding to where his hands were gripping his biceps for dear life. "But I still don't think it's physically possible."

"Look, are you here for a shag or for a discussion on the laws of physics?"

"A shag would do fine, thank you."

"Thought so."

**o.O.o**

"Can you give me something for the need of sleep?" Ianto asked as he stared at himself in the mirror. "I look like shit."

"Your performance isn't suffering from it, though, is it?" There was a fair bit of amusement in Yvonne's voice and Ianto raised an eyebrow at her in the reflection. 'I heard of today's happenings. Please tell me Harkness doesn't know anything."

"Of course he doesn't, I'm not an idiot," Ianto snapped. Yvonne was right, of course; no one had really said anything about the way he looked – and a fair share of people had seen him with his kit off in the last week.

"And what about miss Hallett?"

"What about miss Hallett?" He shot back without missing a beat.

"You seem to be getting attached to her," Yvonne pointed out. "And if she falls for your charms, I just bet she would make you drop the manwhore act you've got going on."

"Who says it's an act?" Ianto asked, genuinely bemused, and his boss eyed him with something between hopelessness and pity.

"You can't tell me you actually enjoy sleeping with all those people."

"Why not? The thing about Torchwood is that it has an image to keep; the god-like air can only be supported by having all your employees be as beautiful as possible. And, hey, pretty boys and pretty girls are definitely my area."

"I brought you something for the sleep, by the way," Yvonne said, already exasperated with the conversation. "A long-lasting something."

"Is it safe?" Ianto joked as he took the small bottle – this time with a bright green liquid in it.

"Oh, but Mr Jones," Yvonne said with a small laugh. "We both know that you value this job more than you value your life."

And this time, Ianto drank to the truth.

**o.O.o**

"You're nineteen!"

Ianto looked up from the small alien device he was fiddling with and found Jack Harkness closing the door of his office behind his back. "Yes?" He said, the single word loaded with surprise.

"You told me you were in university!"

"I am," Ianto said mildly. He couldn't quite see the problem. "First year history. What does it matter?"

"You didn't tell me! I wouldn't have–" The man ran his fingers through his hair, clearly frustrated. "Damn it. You're _nineteen_."

"I'll be twenty in August," Ianto put in helpfully, only to have Harkness glare at him. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm over the age of consent. You haven't done anything bad. You're, what, thirty-five?"

He seemed to contemplate that for a moment, then shrugged. "Close enough."

"Well, what's the big deal, then? Everyone in this place knows how old I am, and if not that, then Yvonne definitely does and it's never stopped her, has it? And I'm pretty sure she's older than you."

It looked like it took a moment for the Captain to understand before his eyes widened in horror. "You mean–"

Ianto sighed in exasperation. "Did you only catch up now?"

"Jesus Christ."

"Not quite. Are you here so you could express your shock from my age, or was there an actual reason for your visit?"

"There was, yes," Harkness nodded and sat down in the visitor's chair. "As you can probably guess, I've checked your file."

"And?" Ianto ventured tentatively. He was feeling a bit sick and it had nothing to do with Yvonne's recent addition to his system – something that would keep him from getting thirsty for longer than the average human.

"_And,_" Harkness said, clasping his hands as he leant forward on Ianto's desk, "I'd like to have a discussion on the laws of physics."

**o.O.o**

Jack watched as the boy – Ianto – paled and then gave a sigh of resignation before looking away from him and pointing his determined gaze on the desk.

"Yvonne says that my body is the epitome of health," he started quietly. "Perfect coordination between height and weight, abilities for long distance running, high pain threshold, high IQ... the whole package, even if I say so myself. She thought I'd be the perfect specimen to– research and experiment on."

"Define 'research'," Jack said. He was surprised by how calm and even his voice was, given the fury inside him.

It would have been easier to accept if Ianto was angry too; if he was acting like a prisoner. Instead, here her was talking about Yvonne Hartman modifying his organism as if it was a part of his routine.

Which it probably was, Jack realised. Maybe that was why he took it so easily – if it had been happening for months, there would be nothing for him to be scared of.

"She mixes up ingredients – both human and alien – into some sort of serum and she gives them to me. Each of them does different things I benefit from. It's true," he added quickly at Jack's harsh laugh. "What she's doing; I've never suffered from it. Don't you see? She's trying to create a more powerful, better version of humanity."

"And you've offered yourself," Jack said quietly. "What for? Money? Power?"

"For myself. I'm better that way," Ianto shrugged. "And the usual as well. Just like Ivy said. Everything for queen and country. But, hey," he got closer to Jack over the desk and looked him straight in the eye. "Don't you think it's not that bad if I'm willing to do it?"

The kiss when it came was both expected and surprising and Jack responded to it, momentarily distracted, only to jerk back from it when he felt the young man thrusting something in his mouth with his tongue.

"I'm sorry," he whispered when he pulled back, framing Jack's face with surprising tenderness. "I really am. It's not that I don't think you can help me, I just can't allow you to do it."

"But–" Jack whispered, trying to spill the pill out – in vain, he knew already, because he'd swallowed it on instinct before his brain had kicked in.

Ianto gave him a quick, chaste kiss. "Goodbye, Captain. See you around."

The last thing Jack saw before sleep took over him was that damned smile yet again, and he faintly thought that that very smile would be the end of him just as his eyes closed.


End file.
